Consumers are relying more and more on online reviews.
Reviews influence as much as 67.7% of all buying decisions. Additionally, 84% of people trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.
As a result, failing to manage your online reputation could cost your business big time.
How big?
Here are some statistics on how each negative review can impact your bottom-line:
One negative review could cost you 22% of potential prospects,
Two negative reviews could cost you 44%,
Three up to 59%, and
Four as much as 70%
On the flip side, positive reviews can benefit your business. For instance, 74% of people will trust your business more if it has positive reviews.
Every one-star increase on your yelp score can increase your revenue by up to 9%.
Vacancies of commercial spaces are already at staggering levels.
It’s important to manage your online reputation.
A great way to do that is to keep your current tenants happy.
Satisfied tenants are more likely to leave positive reviews.
Also, improving facilities maintenance operations can also improve your reputation.
Read on to discover how.
Facility Maintenance – Proactive and Preventive/streamlined solutions?
You may spend hours daily responding to tenant issues and overseeing upkeep.
Both of these tasks have a lot of moving parts. Every misstep has the potential of impacting your reputation.
An effective facilities maintenance system prevents tenant requests from turning into negative reviews.
Instead, they can be a growth strategy and a source of positive reviews.
Know what components go into a successful facilities maintenance operation.
Improving tenant communications, addressing their requests, and performing routine maintenance are all important.
Proactive Maintenance
Addressing tenant maintenance requests is an essential first step in avoiding complaints.
This all starts with good communication.
It also requires an effective way of responding to their requests.
An automated software solution allows tenants to submit a maintenance request online.
Once submitted, it’s monitored until completion.
After fulfilling the request, the software can follow-up to gauge satisfaction. This eliminates confusion and ensures you met the tenant’s needs.
Effective communication places responsibility on maintenance technicians to respond to tenant requests.
Prompt responses influence customer service experience.
Your engineering facility maintenance team should handle a wide range of repairs.
The crew should also have training in customer service best practices.
The facility maintenance team performance reflects on your management as a whole.
An unseemly service could become a source of negative reviews.
But, prompt and professional reactions can generate positive reviews.
Every facility is going to have occasional issues.
Not all facilities will handle them well.
Preventive Maintenance
Addressing repair requests is a great way to protect your online reputation.
Avoiding issues in the first place are even better.
This is best accomplished by implementing a comprehensive preventive maintenance program.
There are two core components to these programs: periodic inspections and scheduled maintenance.
Inspections
Periodic property inspections can offer early detection and removal of potential problems, including:
Plumbing
Electrical
Janitorial
No matter what the issue, thorough inspection is the first step in prevention.
Inspections also provide an excellent opportunity for improving your relationship with your tenants.
During inspections, be professional and listen to tenant concerns.
This will let them know you care about their needs. Use this time to prevent potential negative reviews and build rapport with tenants.
Scheduled maintenance
Performing regular inspections is the early detection of potential problems.
Scheduling certain maintenance items can prevent potential sources of frustrated tenants.
Not to mention costly and time-consuming repairs.
Always include items that need inspections after a predetermined time and usage intervals.
Items like plumbing, HVAC, and safety equipment need routine maintenance.
Things like changing vehicle fluids and inspecting belts need inspection based on usage.
Managing items on different interval periods can be tricky, and it’s easy to neglect one in favor of the other.
This is especially true when you rely on paper records.
You can use the same software management system to track repair requests and schedule maintenance.
It can also schedule inspections and integrates inspection records with routine maintenance records.
Forbes referred to these systems as commercial property “game-changers.”
Whatever your process, regular inspections, and preventative maintenance are critical to tenant satisfaction.
Protect Your Online Reputation
Online reputation can make or break your property management business.
Improving your ratings on online review sites can help you remain competitive.
Know what keeps your tenants happy to avoid negative reviews:
Improving communication
Addressing repair requisitions
Conducting routine maintenance
Including these essential components can create an effective reputation management strategy.
ServiTek creates full-service facility maintenance solutions.
Contact us today to hear more about our comprehensive engineering services.
